Rainbow Six Siege Removes Respawning in Multiplayer Matches

Something I've always respected about the Rainbow Six series is the willingness the team has to stay as true-to-life as possible in the games, so long as the game allowed them to be. First-person shooters have become a little bit of an arcade, attention-deprived, run-and-gun shootfest that even games like Battlefield, that pride itself on simulation-style, have allowed things to get out of hand. Now, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six series is going to take things to the next level and go back to its beginnings of 1998 by not letting users respawn after death.

Rainbow Six Siege is a game I have been insanely excited for and Ubisoft's focus on teamwork and tactics are sure to make it a highly anticipated game for a lot more people than just me. At least for those who aren't twitch shooter fans. That's because in the multiplayer matches for Siege, there will be no respawns. Just like in my beloved Counter-Strike of FPS past, when you die, you're out for the round. For anyone tired of the Call of Duty series, highly rendered dog and all, this should be a huge breath of fresh air.

Appropriately called One Life, Rainbow Six Siege forces players to actually use skill to win, and not rely on one type of overpowered weapon or glitch. On the dev blog, Behind the Wall, the team goes on to explain why the decision was made.

When you're not allowed to respawn during a match, twitch reflexes aren't the only skills that keep you alive. Teamwork, map awareness, planning, adaptability, communication, and leadership become just as important to win.

You can't see it, but I've gotten out of my chair and am applauding reading those words right now. In a team game, putting more focus on team efforts makes so much sense I'm surprised it took over a decade for us to remember that. It evens out the playing field to make sure players of all skill types can enjoy a game, work together and have complete tasks laid out in front of them.

Now, there are those who are going to hate this and might say that there won't be anything to do in those few minutes of downtime. Ubisoft has said the matches are short and "precise" operations, so that if you die you'll only be sitting out for three minutes at most. And luckily, Ubisoft is taking advantage of those players removed from the action by giving them something to do that can affect the outcome of the game.

Yes, losing boots on the ground creates a disadvantage in firepower, but the player still contributes to the team by becoming a source of information. They are able to use limited visibility tools, like the drone and security cameras, or survey from a chopper above the operation zone to keep their team informed of the enemy's movements. We call this Support mode, and it's a crucial aspect of the round as the team balances firepower against information.

So even a dead player can provide crucial information to the fireteam. Still not convinced this is probably the most exciting game that will launch in 2015? After the break I posted a video of some gameplay. Watch that, then come back here and let me know what you thought of it.